In Re: D.S., Appeal of: T.S. ( 2014 )

J-A27030-14
2014 PA Super 229IN RE: D.S., A MINOR : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
APPEAL OF: T.S., FATHER : No. 577 WDA 2014
Appeal from the Order Entered March 12, 2014,
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County,
Civil Division, at No. 99-1597.
BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., SHOGAN and MUSMANNO, JJ.
OPINION BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED OCTOBER 10, 2014
In this dependency case, T.S. (“Father”) appeals from the order
entered on March 12, 2014, that, inter alia, directed Father to undergo a
psychiatric evaluation and changed the placement of his minor child
(“D.S.”).1 After careful review, we reverse in part and affirm in part.
The trial court set forth the relevant facts and procedural history of
this matter as follows:
The family has an extensive history with Allegheny County
Child Youth and Families (CYF) dating back to 2000. Both D.S.
and [a sibling] Z.S. were removed from Mother’s care for
suspected neglect and physical abuse.[2] They were eventually
returned to her care. The children were removed from Mother’s
care in 2002 for similar allegations. Father was granted primary
physical custody of the children in Adult Family Division. Mother
was allowed unsupervised contact with the children through this
1
Because the order changed D.S.’s placement, it is a final appealable order.
See In re C.M., 882 A.2d 507, 512 (Pa. Super. 2005) (explaining that in a
dependency case, an order granting or denying a status change, as well as
an order terminating or preserving parental rights, shall be deemed final
when entered).
2
Neither Z.S. nor the children’s mother is a party to the instant appeal.
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order. The family came to the attention of CYF again in 2009
when Mother requested removal of the children. It was reported
that Father had placed the children in Mother’s care sometime in
2008. CYF filed a Dependency Petition but the case was closed
after Father agreed to assume custody of the children.
On September 27, 2013, Father filed a Private Dependency
Petition alleging that D.S. was running away and refusing to
follow household rules.2 At a Shelter Hearing3 on October 10,
2013, [F]ather requested that the children be removed from his
home. Sometime prior to entering the courtroom for this
hearing, the caseworker observed the children, in the hall,
begging Father to return home. The caseworker testified that
[F]ather responded by pushing the children off of him and saying
“get the f*** off of me”.
2
A similar petition was filed for Z.S.
3
The Honorable William Ward was presiding over the
case until December 31st, 2013.
At a review hearing on November 12, 2013, the court
allowed D.S. to return home to [F]ather. Father subsequently
demanded the child be removed from his home again on
December 5, 2013. On December 18, 2013, D.S. was
adjudicated dependent under 42 Pa.C.S. §6302(1) and (6).
Father stipulated that he required CYF’s assistance in meeting
D.S.’s mental health needs. At this hearing, the court offered
Father home visits on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Father
declined both of the visits. The court further ordered that D.S.,
Father and Father’s paramour4 attend [Allegheny Forensic
Associates] (AFA) evaluations. D.S. did attend her individual
evaluation but Father and his paramour refused to attend their
individual evaluations with Dr. Rosenblum.
4
It should be noted that Father’s live-in paramour
was the former CYF caseworker assigned to the
family case. This was a point of contention in the
family and thus the reason for ordering her to
participate in the evaluations.
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The parties appeared before the Court on March 12, 2014 for a
Permanency Review Hearing. Prior to this hearing, counsel for all
parties briefed the issue of parent’s right to refuse an individual
AFA evaluation. The caseworker, Father, and D.S. testified, and
reports from Dr. Rosenblum and Dr. Vallano were admitted into
evidence5. Dr. Rosenblum completed an interactional evaluation
of D.S., Z.S., [Father] and [F]ather’s paramour. Dr. Rosenblum
opined that D.S. grew up in a “highly dysfunctional and unstable
family. Father has his hands full with these children for quite
some time. Of course the fact that he has run through a number
of different girlfriends has not helped... this Psychologist
continues to believe it would be advantageous to complete
evaluations with father...[.] I believe the parents need help in
identifying increased structure and specific behavioral
expectations for D.S...[.]” Dr. Vallano completed an individual
evaluation of D.S. and similarly determined that intensive family
therapy would be beneficial to the family. Dr. Vallano
recommended “Family therapy to work with father to help him
better understand the trauma and trauma impact as well as
parent behavioral management training on how to oversee an
adolescent with significant emotional and behavioral difficulties”.
5
The Court considered this evidence as well as the
briefs from the parties.
D.S. also provided testimony that [F]ather had not been
visiting the placement facility and was not permitting her to have
home visits. Specifically, she testified, “We have been down this
road. “Yeah I’m willing”, but he just says it. He never does it. It
is always my fault. Everything is always my fault.” Most
importantly, D.S. expressed her desire for love and affection and
longing for a home which could provide her with both. The court
found D.S.’s testimony both credible and compelling. It was
apparent that she longed for a better relationship with her father
and appeared willing to engage in services.
Father wavered in his responses; at times he agreed to
cooperate with services and at other times he expressed that
services would not work for D.S. After direct examination and
cross, the court questioned Father about the doctor’s
recommendations for individual therapy. Father testified that
either family therapy or individual therapy “couldn’t hurt”. He
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later testified that he was willing to accept the services that Dr.
Rosenblum recommended in his report. When asked whether he
would cooperate with any services in order to keep the children
at home he replied, “Yes, I am willing to keep trying”.
Despite these responses, [F]ather’s counsel expressed to
the Court that his client did not wish to be evaluated by Dr.
Rosenblum because it was “a one shot deal” and “not therapy”.
While counsel did state this in his closing argument, the court
took Father’s testimony as [a] whole to be that he was willing to
cooperate with any services that would allow for the return of his
daughter. While [F]ather’s counsel opined that was not what
Father meant, it is clear by his responses that Father agreed to
engage in individual therapy. There had been no suggestions by
any of the parties that Father was in need of individual therapy
only. The purpose in litigating and briefing this issue was
whether it was in the best interest of D.S. to evaluate Father’s
mental health needs with respect to his parenting abilities.
CONCLUSlON:
While Father does not believe he needs to be evaluated by
a mental health professional, the Court believes that he does.
D.S. has been through a number of traumatic and disturbing
incidents in her life. Father lacks any insight about how to
address D.S.’s mental and emotional problems. The existence of
a romantic relationship between [F]ather and the former
caseworker is also particularly troubling. This type of poor
decision making and parenting exhibits a clear need for Father to
obtain some type of mental health services of his own. He has
had a number of paramours in the home which has also created
tension. Father appears willing to participate in services that he
believes to be appropriate. He demands CYF to remove the child
but is unwilling to actually cooperate with services. Father’s
refusal to undergo an individual evaluation is troubling because
of the nature and severity of D.S.’s history of trauma and abuse.
The goal in this case has always been reunification. In order to
facilitate such a goal, it is vital to the family to address
everyone’s mental health needs as well as to minimize conflict in
the home.
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Trial Court Opinion, 5/15/14, at unnumbered 1-5 (bracketed footnote
added).
Following the hearing, the trial court ordered D.S. to be moved to a
placement facility that could address her mental health issues, and where
she could undergo trauma-based therapy, family therapy, and individual
therapy. Order, 3/12/14. The trial court also directed Father to attend an
individual psychiatric evaluation at AFA and directed him to follow the
recommendations made as a result of the AFA evaluation. Id. Father filed a
timely appeal.
On appeal, Father presents a single issue for this Court’s
consideration:
Did the Trial Court abuse its discretion by not applying the law
and making a decision that was manifestly unreasonable by
ordering [Father] to participate in a mental health evaluation
despite no record of a mental health deficiency to establish the
compelling state interest needed to justify the intrusion upon his
Constitutionally protected right to privacy?
Father’s Brief at 4.
Initially, we point out that our standard of review of an order changing
the placement of a dependent child is for an abuse of discretion. In re A.K.,
936 A.2d 528, 532-533 (Pa. Super. 2007) (citation omitted). However,
because the salient issue in this matter is whether the trial court could order
Father to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, we analyze this issue pursuant to
Article 1 Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. See In re T.R., 731
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A.2d 1276, 1280 (Pa. 1999) (plurality decision) (citing Denoncourt v.
Commonwealth State Ethics Commission, 470 A.2d 945, 949 (Pa.
1983)). Article 1 Section 1 provides as follows:
Inherent rights of mankind
All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain
inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of
enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing
and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their
own happiness.
Pa. Const. Art. 1, § 1. However:
Although the right to privacy is of constitutional dimension, it is
not unqualified. Privacy claims must be balanced against state
interests. Our test of whether an individual may be compelled to
disclose private matters, as we stated it in Denoncourt, is that
“government’s intrusion into a person’s private affairs is
constitutionally justified when the government interest is
significant and there is no alternate reasonable method of lesser
intrusiveness to accomplish the governmental purpose.” [Id.] at
949. More recently, we have stated the test in terms of whether
there is a compelling state interest. Stenger [v. Lehigh Valley
Hospital Center, 609 A.2d 796, 802 (Pa. 1992)]. In reality, the
two tests are not distinct. There must be both a compelling, i.e.,
“significant” state interest and no alternate reasonable method
of lesser intrusiveness.
In re T.R., 731 A.2d at 1280.
Applying this analysis, our Supreme Court then held in In re T.R. that
the mother’s right to privacy precluded a compelled psychological
evaluation. In re T.R., 731 A.2d at 1281. The Court concluded that there
was abundant information already in the case about the mother’s parenting
ability, or lack thereof. Id.
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Here, Father argues that the trial court misapplied the law when it
ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Father’s Brief at 10.
Father cites In re K.D., 744 A.2d 760 (Pa. Super. 1999) as support for his
position. In that case, a panel of this Court stated:
The Juvenile Act does not expressly provide for a parent to
submit to a psychological evaluation during a dependency
proceeding. Moreover, the purposes of the Act are:
(1) To preserve the unity of the family wherever
possible or to provide another alternative permanent
family when the unity of the family cannot be
maintained.
(1.1) To provide for the care, protection, safety and
wholesome mental and physical development of
children coming within the provisions of this chapter.
...
(3) To achieve the foregoing purposes in a family
environment whenever possible, separating the child
from parents only when necessary for his welfare,
safety or health or in the interests of public safety.
(4) To provide means through which the provisions
of this chapter are executed and enforced and in
which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their
constitutional and other legal rights recognized and
enforced.
42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301(b).
In re K.D., 744 A.2d at 761. The panel then went on to state:
We believe, under the circumstances of this case, that the
best interests of the children can be maintained without
compelling appellant to submit to a psychological evaluation. Our
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thorough evaluation of the trial court opinion and the record
reveals a noticeable lack of support for subjecting appellant to
this evaluation. A mere allegation that appellant has been taking
medication for a mental condition and passed out on one
occasion as a result of the medication is insufficient, in our
minds, to force upon her an unwanted psychological evaluation.
Id.Similarly, in the present case, while there remains no absolute bar to
ordering a psychiatric evaluation, we conclude that the trial court’s order of
a mandatory psychiatric evaluation and treatment was not the least invasive
means of achieving its well-intentioned goal. In a case where this Court
examined the decision in In re T.R., we stated: “[In re] T.R. stands for the
proposition that the court may not, under certain circumstances, invade an
individual’s privacy rights by ordering a psychological evaluation and
revealing its results; however, the court may take into consideration a
parent’s refusal to follow its treatment recommendation.” In re J.Y., 754
A.2d 5, 9 (Pa. Super. 2000) (emphasis added).
Here, there would have been no impediment to the trial court’s
recommendation that Father seek treatment, and if Father opted to forgo
that treatment, his refusal could have been considered by the trial court in
D.S.’s placement. In re J.Y., 754 A.2d at 9. However, we cannot conclude
that there was a compelling state interest in ordering the evaluation and
directing Father to comply with recommendations made by AFA in this case.
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Indeed, there were no specific allegations or evidence of record that Father
had any particular mental health deficiencies.
As pointed out by the Court in In re T.R.:
The real issue in the case, then, is not so much whether
the children should be removed, as whether the mother should
be protected from her own assertion of a constitutional right
because the assertion of that right may impede the efforts of the
courts to return the children to her care. Citing the legislative
goal of keeping the family together, the department would
require the psychological examination.
We regard such a concern as well intentioned, but
misplaced. Compelling a psychological examination in this
context is nothing more or less than social engineering in
derogation of constitutional rights, and where, as here, there is
an abundance of information about the ability of the parent to be
a parent, there is no state interest, much less a compelling state
interest, in the ordering of parental psychological examinations.
In fact, we find such state intervention frightening in its
Orwellian aspect. It is one thing for the mother to agree to
psychological evaluation and to voluntarily undergo instruction in
self-improvement, but it is quite another for the state, in the
exercise of paternalistic might, to order a psychological
evaluation in violation of the mother’s constitutional rights,
presumably upon pain of imprisonment for contempt of court.
The constitution is not a mere policy statement to be overridden
by a sociological scheme for the improvement of society. The
mother, alas, may be her own worst enemy and her
shortcomings as a parent may result in the permanent removal
of her children; nonetheless, the mother remains a free person,
and her power to assert her constitutional right to privacy is not
diminished merely because the representatives of the state think
it is ill advised.
In re T.R., 731 A.2d at 1281.
Likewise, while Father himself may be an impediment to reunification
with D.S., we cannot conclude that there is a state interest in this matter
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that is so compelling that Father’s constitutional rights may be overridden.
Here, it was Father, not a government agency, who filed the dependency
petition requesting that D.S. be removed from his home.3 If Father is
unwilling to voluntarily seek psychiatric treatment and follow
recommendations, that remains his choice, as he initiated the underling
petition. However, the trial court is under no obligation to reunite D.S. with
a parent or guardian unable or unwilling to care for her. A court order
directing psychiatric treatment in violation of Father’s constitutional rights,
with the possible penalty for failure to comply being “imprisonment for
contempt of court,”4 is not warranted under the facts of this case or the
aforementioned relevant legal authority.
For these reasons, we conclude that the trial court erred in ordering
Father to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Accordingly, that part of the
March 12, 2014 order directing Father to undergo a psychiatric evaluation
and follow AFA recommendations is hereby reversed. The order is affirmed
in all other respects.
3
Appellee, Kids Voice, as Guardian ad litem for D.S., emphasizes that a
psychiatric evaluation was warranted because Father filed the dependency
petition and invited the government intervention. Appellee’s (Guardian ad
litem) Brief at 13. We disagree. If Father will not voluntarily undergo a
mental health evaluation, we doubt that a court order compromising his
constitutional rights will cure the underlying issues in this matter.
4
In re K.D., 744 A.2d at 761 (quoting In re T.R., 731 A.2d at 1281).
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Order reversed in part and affirmed in part. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 10/10/2014
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